Monday, January 24, 2011

The Dodo in my life

Little Miss and I enjoyed a mother-daughter weekend together; My Guy was with his friends shooting and killing people and blowing things up - on the computer that is. He left on Friday for the burbs, where a dozen guys gather in a house with their computers to flex their cyber muscles - ones most of them don’t have in real life because they spend most of their time “working out” at the computer. I’m not complaining; I’m usually drawn to the geek physique so it’s all good.

I spent Saturday at the Exploritorium with Little Miss and we stopped by at one of my favorite Indian restaurants for some dosai on our way home. I’d like to call it a ladies’ luncheon, especially since she (amazingly) behaved just like one. Unlike most days, she was possessed by the spirit of the Terrific Two, with Terrible Two only checking in for a couple of minutes on very few occasions. I definitely lucked out. Come to think of it, I should’ve played the lottery.

On Sunday, we spent the morning at a playdate with two of her other friends and their parents. While the kids took turns to exercise their divine right to demand attention, toys, food and every need possible, the adults managed conversations and a lovely potluck brunch among ourselves. Then it was time for nap at our house before venturing to the burbs to get My Guy. While the reunion with daddy was a joyous one, I was a little disappointed that this weekend was already over.

As much as I adored the special time with my daughter, I couldn’t help but reflect on the time I had to myself after Little Miss went to bed the last two evenings. Apart from the freedom to leave the house, the choice was completely mine to do as I pleased, and so I indulged in extremes.

I sat through a marathon of the TV series, Californication, for some mindless entertainment, a show that’s been eluding me before this due to time constraints. Then there was the marathon writing and the marathon cooking. And, possibly my favorite part, marathon reading. All of which I did without any preset limitations (a.k.a. ignoring laundry). I wrote as much as my carpal tunnel would allow, I read until my eyelids could no longer function, and I cooked blissfully uninterrupted in the kitchen. As long as Little Miss was asleep, the house was quiet, and the peace it afforded me rejuvenated my soul.

When I look at my now protruding baby belly and think ahead to when Thumper gets here, I know this me time will be scarce. My mom will be arriving at the end of March to live with us so we’ll very soon explode from a family of three to a family of five. That also means there will always be something to do, someone to talk to (whether I want to or not), some place to be, some need to meet. Since there won’t be a mansion in our future, trying to find a quiet refuge and serenity in my own home may just go the way of the Dodo. And that’s just one of the many changes we will face as we morph into this new family.

As I write this, my daughter and the pets are in deep slumber while My Guy tries to catch up on the sleep he missed over the weekend himself. The only sounds I hear are the steady hum of the heat blowing through the vents and the uncertain tapping on the keyboard of someone equally uncertain of her future.

* * *

What are some of your favorite me-time indulgences? Is there a part of your house that you can escape to for some time to yourself? How do you deal with major changes in your life? Do you need quiet time to process or do you meet the challenges in full speed and head on?